Sit still! You'll give yourself a subarachnoid haemorrhage

They're simple actions and behaviours that we don't even think about, but did you know that blowing your nose could lead to a stroke?

According to today's Daily Mail, drinking coffee blowing your nose and having sex could increase your chances of developing a subarachnoid haemorrhage, a potentially deadly type of stroke, as all these activities trigger a sudden increase in blood pressure.

This worrying news comes to us courtesy of a study by the Netherlands' University Medical Centre in Utrecht. They surveyed 250 people who had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

The Guardian also carries the story, and quotes researcher Dr Ale Agra, an epidemiologist at the Utrecht Stroke Centre and the Julius Centre for Health and Primary Care, who said: 'One of the major reasons we did this study was to understand why some aneurysms burst and others don't.'

'We wanted to know if there were specific triggers behind these events.'

Tam Fry, spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, said: 'It's extraordinary that women would choose to be blind, or have other severe health problems, in preference to obesity.'

'Being obese is avoidable by taking steps to maintain a healthy weight… and even if you are obese there are effective ways to lose weight.'

None of this may matter though if you were born with the 'happiness' gene, which The Independent reports on.

A study has for the first time showed a link between the gene known as 5-HTT and satisfaction, according to the paper. The gene regulates the brain chemical serotonin. People with the long version are more likely to be bubbly, while there's a greater chance that those with the short version will be pessimistic.